Love's Imposters: The Setup, page 4
When she looked over, she saw he was studying her, his head tilted slightly as though he was deep in thought.
“Yes,” he finally said. “I suppose that goes with the territory in your line of work.”
She stiffened. Here it comes. The judgement she’d been waiting for since the moment she’d been outed as a spy. It wasn’t common for women to be spies and what few existed were, for obvious reasons, unknown to the general public. For the few men who were allowed to know her secret, the discovery was met with disdain, at best.
“You’re remarkable.”
He hurried to add, “What you do, I mean. Working undercover for your country. It’s remarkable.”
She should have known to expect the unexpected. Still, that didn’t mean she should trust him. Not knowing how to respond to the compliment, she remained silent.
“How long have you been working for the General?”
Her eyes narrowed on him. Had she not just said she didn’t like talking about herself? Seemingly unfazed by her glare, Daniel continued, “You must have learned quite a bit during your time in the field. I was hoping perhaps you might have some words of wisdom.”
Was he serious? It seemed so. Could he, a captain in the British Army, really be asking for her advice? Surely he was mocking her.
“Don’t get caught.” She pulled out her embroidery and ignored his laughter. But despite herself, she felt her traitorous lips twitching in an attempt to keep from smiling. She tried to focus on the needle in her hand rather than the handsome charmer who sat across from her.
“Thanks for the advice.”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing at his feigned sincerity.
When she remained silent and continued to embroider, despite the nausea that threatened to build if she didn’t stop soon, she thought perhaps he’d given up.
He had not.
“I don’t know how you can concentrate on something like that while riding in a carriage,” Daniel said. “I’d love to be able to read on long journeys but after a little while, I’m afraid I start to feel sick.”
Her stomach roiled in agreement and she bit back a groan. After two more unpleasant minutes, she set the embroidery down with more force than absolutely necessary. This was ridiculous. She was making herself ill, all in the name of avoiding this man’s gaze? Surely she had more courage than that.
She glanced across at the charmer in question. Dammit. He was looking at her. It wasn’t the gaze that angered her so much as her immediate and intense reaction to it. She was blushing again. Oh sweet heaven, she needed to get away from this man.
* * *
For the love of all that was holy, Daniel needed to get closer to this woman.
It was lunacy. There was no doubt in his mind he had lost his senses. Was this what happened to other men when they fell in love?
Oh, for Pete’s sake, this couldn’t be love, he barely knew Madeline. It was lust, pure and simple.
He saw a hint of pink darken her cheeks as her gaze flittered between him and the view outside her window. Did she feel it too? Surely he couldn’t be the only one who felt this, like a magnet between them, pulling them together, keeping them in their very own orbit.
It wasn’t love, it was lust. But if it was just lust, why the hell did he feel the need to get to know her. No, not just that. He wanted to learn everything there was to know. Her deepest secrets, the hidden freckles, her dreams and fears. All of it.
Oh dear God, he was in trouble.
It had become a recurring refrain in his brain. He was in trouble. And it had little to do with the fact that he was suddenly a spy—something no amount of military training had prepared him for. No, he was in danger thanks to the mysterious and beguiling woman sitting across from him.
The problem was, she didn’t seem to feel the same. Or if she did, she was doing a fantastic job of hiding it. But then again, that was part of her profession, wasn’t it? Keeping secrets and maintaining a façade for the rest of the world was her stock-in-trade.
That thought buoyed his spirits and with newfound optimism, he leaned toward her. “What if I tell you a little about myself. For every bit of information you glean from me, you must tell me something about yourself.”
Her pretty features creased into a scowl that was obviously intended to be forbidding but only managed to make her look even more adorable.
“My parents died five years ago and I have been taking care of my little sister ever since.” It seemed like a good place to start. After all, the death of his parents and his current role of guardian were the most significant events of his his life to date.
He watched for Madeline’s reaction. Her eyes widened at his sudden and uncalled for confession.
“Your turn,” he prodded.
The surprise he’d seen in her eyes was mixed with something else. Fear, he realized with a start. And more than that…he glimpsed a vulnerability that was achingly sweet, if a bit sad. Had this woman no one to confide in? For the first time since he accepted the role, he began to realize just how lonely a profession espionage must be.
She remained silent and so he added in a gentle voice, “Please, Madeline. Wouldn’t it be best if there was some trust between us? Would it not make for a more solid partnership?”
Her lips pursed in thought before she finally said, “My mother died when I was eight.”
Her expression was wary, as if she’d let too much slip. Daniel thought over his next words carefully, afraid to spook her. “The reason I hesitated before taking this role is because of my sister. She needs me and I’m afraid of what will happen to her if something happens to me.”
Madeline’s head cocked to the side and a hint of a smile flickered over her lips. “I’m afraid of what would happen to her if her country was occupied by Napoleon’s army. I think you made the right choice.”
The words were more comforting than he would care to admit. Not because they validated his decision, although that was nice to hear, but because she’d admitted that she was glad he’d said yes. For a while there he was certain she hadn’t wanted him at her side. He’d been convinced she’d have preferred to be on her own.
“Your turn,” he said again. “How did you come to work for the general?”
He watched her inhale deeply and her gaze moved to the ceiling as if a hatch might open and save her from having to answer.
She finally opened her mouth to speak but was cut short as the carriage came to an abrupt halt, sending them both crashing to the floor.
“What was that?” Daniel groaned.
“Trap.” Madeline whispered the word close to his ear. He should not be taking notice of how delicious she smells. Not now, not when they were in a—“Did you say trap?”
She slapped a hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. “Follow my lead.”
He nodded and she dropped her hand, just as the carriage door was wrenched open.
LOVE’S IMPOSTERS: THE SETUP
CHAPTER SIX
“You the Malloys?” a gruff voice asked.
Madeline should have been expecting this. She would have been expecting this if she hadn’t been distracted by the man currently entangled in her skirts on the floor of the carriage.
Carefully unraveling the fabric and tugging it out from underneath him, she pulled herself into an upright position, ignoring the man who glowered at them from the doorway and his companions who she could see just past him, still on their horses. There were two possible reasons why they’d been so inelegantly stopped: they had been discovered as the double agents they were or they were being tested.
If their true identities had been discovered, there was nothing for it but to fight and look for the first opportunity to flee. But if they were being tested…
When she deigned to looked up from her task at hand she raised her brows at the rough character who was glaring at her, ignoring Daniel’s dazed stare.
“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.
The man backed up a bit in surprise but he didn’t look at all pleased by her tone. Good.
“Your host sent us,” the man said. “For your protection.”
Protection? Ha. She saw the man look to Daniel expectantly, ready for him to take charge, no doubt. But her partner smartly kept his mouth shut. Instead he leaned back against the seat behind him and crossed his legs, looking for all the world like a lazy dandy who had opted to take a rest, rather than a man who may or may not be being kidnapped.
“So our host thought to welcome us to his region with armed guards? How thoughtful.” She made no attempt to hide her sarcasm and she was satisfied to see the man seemed to lose quite a bit of his bluster in the face of her cool derision. Men, she’d found, were easily rattled by a confident female.
Before he could respond, she sniffed haughtily and summoned her best impression of Mrs. Watters. “Very well. Our carriage will follow you to Dover.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am, but our instructions were to take you to a nearby inn.”
Madeline’s eyes flickered to Daniel. He kept a poker face, despite this news. So their host had changed the plan. Not unheard of, certainly. Were they planning to double-cross him, which they were, it would be that much more difficult if the plan was changed midway through. As it was, the General expected them to be at Dover. That is where their backup would be waiting for the signal to move in. At the inn, they were on their own. But now was not the time to panic.
Before she could speak, Daniel cut in. “Even better.” He turned to their new escort with a lazy, heavy-lidded smile. “I told my wife we shouldn’t have to go all the way to that godforsaken town.”
He turned to Madeline and gave her a bawdy wink. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back to London, eh pet?”
With that he tipped his head back against the seat, and plopped a hat over his head, covering his eyes. She had to smother a grin at Daniel’s performance. If she hadn’t known better, she would have believed he was napping.
She turned back to the man who was watching them with a mixture of curiosity and amusement.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she demanded.
He stumbled back with a hasty nod. “Yes, ma’am.”
It wasn’t until the carriage was moving again that Madeline spoke. “So your idea of Robert Malloy is, what…. a drunken cad?”
Daniel lifted the brim of his hat and opened one eye.
She couldn’t contain a giggle at his arch look.
“I think he bought it.”
She nodded, “I’m sure he did. You were brilliant.”
His obvious pleasure at the compliment was endearing. He lifted himself off the floor and back onto the bench in one quick move. “So what’s the plan now? Go along with this change of events?”
Madeline nodded. She moved to pull herself off the floor but froze when he reached out to help her. His hands were on her. One was wrapped around her upper arm and the other grasped her gloved hand in his. They stayed like that. Her still on the floor, frozen in place, with him over her. She was dimly aware of the fact that to an outsider they would look like an odd statue.
Daniel seemed to come to life at the same moment she did and they hurriedly lifted her back to a more dignified sitting position. The remainder of the now-short journey was largely silent.
She found herself obsessing over whether or not he had felt the connection too. He must have, why else would he have frozen like that? He’d felt the spark, she was sure of it. When the carriage came to a halt in front of an in, she was jolted back to the present with a start.
How on earth could she have spent the past twenty minutes stewing over an infatuation when their very lives hung in the balance? Was this how her sisters felt all the time? No wonder they were forever gossiping about the young men of their acquaintance. Infatuation was an illness.
Daniel leaned past her to open the carriage door and she found herself holding her breath. Then she rolled her eyes behind his back. She was being a ninny. If she could survive being held captive on a cargo ship in the English Channel in the middle of winter, she could certainly handle a little infatuation.
Besides, she needed to convince these men and, more importantly, their contact, that they were a married couple. And married couples did not go around holding their breath or freezing up upon contact.
And so, when he turned back and offered his hand to help her out of the carriage, she took it without pause. And she breathed, like a normal person. She most assuredly did not acknowledge the shiver that ran down her spine when they touched.
See? How hard could it be to pretend to be married for one day?
* * *
Madeline stood next to Daniel and swallowed back the horrified screeching noise that was working its way up her throat. “Excuse me?” she said instead. “What do you mean, our host won’t be here until tomorrow?”
The men were barely paying attention as they scurried about, taking care of the horses and talking with the innkeeper and his wife.
When she cleared her throat, the ruffian who’d addressed them in the carriage earlier turned back as though surprised to find her there.
“He’s been delayed, I’m afraid. He’s asked that you wait for him here at the inn and he’ll join you in the morning.”
“But,” Madeline started. When she paused, Daniel took over. Taking one of her hands in his, he pulled her against his side. “Oh come now, pet, one night at this musty old inn won’t be so terrible.”
He caught her eye and she let her protest die unspoken. “Yes, of course,” she murmured instead. One night, alone in a room with Daniel. Was the air thinner at this inn or was it just her?
The man turned to grab their luggage. “And of course, your host will be paying for your stay and your meals in exchange for the inconvenience.”
Madeline slipped an arm around Daniel and snuggled up against his side. “I should hope so.”
Side by side they followed him into the inn as their entourage of guards brought up the rear. The inn was crowded and hot. She found it difficult to say if the cloying heat was due to the large crowds or her awareness of the man pressed against her side—the man she would be sharing a room with tonight.
No need to panic. She’d done this sort of thing before on other assignments. She’d never formed a longstanding partnership—espionage didn’t exactly lend itself to trusting bonds. But her partners had always treated her with the respect which came with being a servant to the throne. They may look down their noses at a woman passing over family and marriage for a career but they all knew that to disrespect a fellow operative, and the General’s daughter, no less, was asking for trouble.
Daniel would be no different. In fact, even without the looming threat of the General’s anger if he misbehaved, something told her this man would move heaven and earth before he mistreated a lady, spy or not.
She stifled another sigh. Did he really have to be a gentleman to boot? He could at least have had the decency to be a cad.
* * *
Daniel thought his mouth might be too dry to swallow the thick stew the innkeeper set in front of him. But he did his best to shove it down. It took every ounce of his attention to maintain the lazy ease he’d summoned earlier in the carriage. The men sent to guard them were watching his every move….and Madeline’s.
Fear gripped his stomach every time he saw Marcus, the one who appeared to be their leader, leering at her. All of the men were doing it but none with such outright curiosity as the ringleader. Not for the first time it occurred to him that perhaps this man was the informant. Maybe he was in disguise to suss them out before revealing his true identity.
Or perhaps he was just a paid mercenary who had no idea what they were doing there, only that he was bid to keep an eye on them. Either way, Daniel despised the way he was eyeing Madeline.
But she didn’t seem to notice or, if she did, she was the best damn actress he’d ever seen, on or off stage. Delicately and daintily, she picked apart the piece of chicken on her plate, as though sitting amongst a crew of ruffian jailors and a fake husband was the most natural occurrence on earth. He half expected her to begin talking about the weather.
As if on cue, he heard her sweet voice address the table at large, “Pleasant day for travel, was it not?”
Daniel would have laughed had he not been mired in fear, mainly on her behalf. She had taken on the more taxing role, by far. All he had to do was lean back and act as though he was half cocked and ready for his next beverage. Madeline, on the other hand, had established herself as the brains of this operation and Marcus had kept his attention on her from the moment they departed the carriage. Marcus didn’t even allow them a moment alone to discuss the new change of events, rather he ushered them straight into the dining room. He made every show of merely being their escort until their host arrived, but Daniel hadn’t missed the way he’d peppered his conversation with Madeline with questions, little things that could be seen as common courtesy…or an attempt to trip her up.
Even now, in response to her mundane comment on the weather, Marcus didn’t miss a step. “And where was it you were traveling from again, miss?”
“Northampton,” she said, without so much as a pause. He’d asked before, twice now. If he hoped to catch her in a lie, it would take more than that.
Much as Daniel hated that Madeline was in the hot seat, so to speak, he also had to admit it was for the best. He was still learning, that much was clear. He was fascinated by the way she so seamlessly read every situation and responded quickly, with no change in her composure. She was incredible. Perhaps he’d be at her level eventually, but for this, their first assignment together, he would watch and learn from the best. His spoon full of stew hovered halfway to his lips. Was he really contemplating taking on additional assignments?
There was no denying it. Despite the fear, the uncertainty, Daniel was already hooked. Maybe it was the adrenaline. He heard Madeline’s tinkling laugh at a comment from one of the men toward the end of the table. Or maybe adrenaline had nothing to do with it.
